Director, Applied Benchmarking

Role Summary

The Director, Applied Benchmarking is a distinguished expert and organizational thought leader who advises senior management on strategic benchmarking initiatives, partnering with cross-functional teams for internal and external industry intelligence to build capabilities across people, processes, and systems. This role executes the Applied Benchmarking program within Supply Chain Excellence to inform enterprise strategy, transformation initiatives, and performance improvement priorities, and leads engagement with external benchmarking platforms to position Johnson & Johnson as a leader in operational excellence. Location: New Brunswick, NJ or Raritan, NJ.

Responsibilities

• Execute the enterprise Applied Benchmarking strategy and annual plan in service of enterprise transformation priorities, JJOS, and Supply Chain Excellence objectives. Establish and run stakeholder intake and prioritization, build project plans, manage milestones, and ensure commitments are met.
• Contribute inputs to strategy refinement through insights from execution and stakeholder feedback.
• Conduct and commission research on emerging and affirming industry trends (e.g., next-gen productivity, sustainable operations, future of workforce).
• Build and manage partnerships with external institutions, consortia, and peers to enable access to leading practices, comparative performance insights, and learning exchanges.
• Lead cross-sector coordination to prepare high-quality, industry-leading submissions and executive narratives.
• Coach stakeholders on documenting outcomes, evidence, and lessons learned; track progress and readiness to showcase JJOS-enabled performance and innovation.
• Develop and maintain the global industry use-case database, benchmarking data, and supporting artifacts.
• Define data standards, taxonomy, and governance; ensure accessibility for partners while protecting confidentiality and compliance requirements.
• Define, implement, and report integrated value metrics to quantify benchmarking impact (adoption, maturity progression, performance improvements).
• Provide concise executive updates, risks/issues escalation, and data-driven storytelling to support investment and prioritization decisions.
• Lead and develop a customer experience insights capability so benchmarking insights translate into improved customer journeys and end-to-end service experiences.
• Facilitate cross-sector/functional reviews to align on priorities, remove blockers, and reinforce standard ways of working.
• Mentor and consult with teams to build benchmarking and adoption capability and strengthen collaborative execution in a global, matrixed environment.

Qualifications

• Required: Bachelor’s Degree or Equivalent
• Required: A minimum of 10 years of related experience
• Required: Demonstrated experience executing strategic benchmarking, competitive intelligence, or operational excellence programs with measurable outcomes.
• Required: Strong understanding of supply chain and operations (manufacturing, distribution, customer service, quality) and how operating systems (e.g., JJOS/Lean/Six Sigma) drive performance.
• Required: Proven ability to influence and align senior stakeholders in a complex, highly matrixed, global organization; strong facilitation, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Required: Program and portfolio management capabilities including intake/prioritization, milestone tracking, risk management, and executive communications.
• Required: Analytical capability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data into actionable insights; experience defining and tracking value creation metrics and dashboards.
• Required: Experience building external partnerships (institutions, consortia, vendors) and managing confidentiality and data sharing obligations.
• Required: People leadership experience with a track record of coaching and developing talent; ability to build inclusive culture and accountability.
• Required: Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to craft compelling narratives and submissions that clearly articulate outcomes and best practices.
• Required: Familiarity with GxP/SOX considerations relevant to external submissions and data governance.
• Required: Experience with digital/advanced manufacturing and analytics; familiarity with benchmarking tools, external databases, and knowledge management platforms.
• Required: Experience applying customer experience design approaches (personas, journey mapping) to translate insights into practical experience standards and journey improvements.
• Preferred: Related Industry Experience: Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Healthcare, consumer goods
• Preferred: Certified Business Process Professional (CBPP)
• Preferred: Lean & Six Sigma Methodologies
• Preferred: Certified Process Professional (CPP)
• Preferred: Project Management Professional (PMP)

Additional Requirements

• Travel up to 35% (international and domestic).